Slab planer apparatus and method



Dec. 8, 1970 c. w. JONES 1 3,545,140

SLAB PLANER APPARATUS AND METHOD 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 25, 1968 INVENTOR.

CORDIS W. JONES ya AT TORNEY Dec. 8,1970

c. w. JONES SLAB PLANER APPARATUS AND METHOD 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept 25, 1968 INVENTOR.

III 1 m A I] CORDIS W. JONES ATTORNEY Dec. 8, 1970 0. w. JONES 3,545,140

SLAB PLANER APPARATUS AND METHOD Filed Sept. 23, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

CORDIS W. JONES Zia W ATTORNEY United States Patent US. Cl. 51-170 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention is a slab planer apparatus movable down a given path over material to be worked upon including main housing means; power means connected to the housing means providing drive means through hydraulic fluid motors; a surface treating means rotatable through the power means to provide a grinding action to the material worked upon; a sprayer assembly operable to provide cutting and/or coolant fluid to the surface being Worked upon; and spring loader apparatus mounted on the housing means operable to provide the necessary reaction force to maintain the entire apparatus in contact with the material being worked upon. Additionally, this invention relates to a control means operable on a movable mechanism to maintain a given drive load thereon so as to correlate the rotational speed and power of the drive means relative to the surface treating means therein to provide for automatic compensation in a grinding or surface treating operation. Also, this invention is a method of finishing a concrete object by grinding and/ or cutting through controlled movement of a machine mechanism thereover.

Numerous types of machine mechanisms are known to the prior art operable to be moved longitudinally over a given material to be worked upon such as a concrete slab for grinding or cutting the same. However, the prior art devices are bulky in size and weight in order to provide a reaction force against the material being worked upon and are, therefore, expensive with high maintenance and operation costs. Additionally, the prior art devices fail to produce uniform type end product results plus having to be moved therealong at a given rate notwithstanding variations in resistance of the material or amount of material needed to be removed such as in a grinding operation.

In one preferred embodiment of this invention, a slab planer apparatus is provided for controlled movement along a spaced, parallel set of guide rails having material to be worked upon therebetween such as a concrete slab or the like. The slab planer apparatus includes a housing means releasably connected to the respective guide rails as by spring loader assemblies; a power means mounted on the housing means including a main internal combustion engine to operate a pump means for driving a hydraulic means connected to wheel members supporting the housing means; a surface treating means having a grinder assembly secured to the housing means for contact with the concrete slab and driven by the power means; a spray assembly mounted within the housing means operable to apply a cutting or cooling fluid about the material contacting portion of the surface treating means; and control means operably connected to the surface treating means and the power means for controlled movement of the entire slab planer apparatus relative to the resistance of the material being worked upon and force desired to be placed thereagainst. The housing means includes a basic support frame having the plurality of spaced wheel members thereon adapted to rest on the upper surfaces of the guide rails and provided with outer sidewalls integral with an upper top wall having the power means mounted thereon. The power means includes the internal combustion engine; a control panel assembly operably connected to the engine; and a hydraulic drive means connected from the motor means through hydraulic motor members and varlous gear and chain structures to the respective wheel members. The surface treating means includes a grinder assembly having an elongated arbor member to contact the material being worked upon and having a guard member mounted thereabout. The arbor member is preferably,

provided with an elongated shaft having each end rotatably connected to the housing means with one outer end thereof connected through a gear and chain member to the power means for rotation against the surface being worked thereupon. The grinder assembly is readily adjustable vertically so as to be usable with concrete slabs of various thickness and to provide the adjustment to obtain the desired amount of material removal. The spray assembly includes a plurality of nozzle members adapted to spray a fluid such as a cutting or cooling liquid into contact with the rotating arbor member so as to provide lubricating and/or cooling features thereto. Additionally, a rearward flooding nozzle is provided to wash away the chips being generated by the surface treating means to achieve the finished condition. It is obvious that an external fluid source could be connected to the entire slab planer apparatus or a fluid reservoir may be carried thereon so as to be entirely self-sustaining. A spring loader assembly is provided at each corner of the slab planer apparatus and includes an attachment frame secured thereto; a main housing pivotally connected to the frame; a spring housing assembly telescopically mounted within the housing; and a cam yoke assembly attached to the main housing engageable with the spring housing assembly. Each spring loader assembly is provided with a cam member adapted to engage the undersurface of the respective guide rails and to apply a force thereagainst so as to achieve a reaction against the grinding or cutting operations on the concrete slab.

One object of this invention is to provide a slab planar apparatus and method overcoming the aforementioned disadvantages of the prior art devices.

A further object of this invention is to provide a slab planar apparatus movable along a given path to straddle a concrete slab or the like for grinding and/or cutting the same and having a plurality of spring loader assemblies operable to provide the necessary reaction force against the material being worked upon.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a slab planar apparatus movable on spaced guide rail members having a control means operable to provide a hydraulic drive force at a given rate correlated to the rotational speed of an arbor of a surface treating assembly working on a given product to achieve uniform consistent results.

Another object of this invention is to provide a method of surface treating concrete slabs by the moving of a slab planer apparatus thereover at a controlled rate depending on variable resistance of the concrete slab.

One other object of this invention is to provide a slab planer apparatus that is completely self-contained operable to move along a given path; provide a surface treating assembly for grinding and/or cutting operations on a given material; having its own power means; and providing a spray operable to provide the necessary lubricating and/or coolant fluid to the material being worked upon,

One other object of this invention is to provide a slab planer apparatus and method which is economical to operate; adjustable in grinding operation and speed; relatively inexpensive to manufacture; and substantially maintenance free.

Various other objects, advantages, and features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following discussion, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a slab planer apparatus of this invention illustrated as mounted on a pair of spaced guide rails and movable longitudinally of an elongated pre-cast concrete slab;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 22 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal fragmentary sectional view of the slab planer apparatus of this invention;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of one corner of the slab planer mechanism of this invention as connected to a guide rail having portions thereof broken away for clarity; I

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 55 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the hydraulic control and drive means of this invention; and

FIGS. 7-9, inclusive, are schematic diagrams illustrating the operation of the slab planer apparatus of this invention.

The following is a discussion and description of preferred specific embodiments of the new slab planer apparatus and method of this invention, such being made with reference to the drawings, whereupon the same reference numerals are used to indicate the same or similar parts and/ or structure. It is to be understood that such discussion and description is not to unduly limit the scope of the invention.

Referring to the drawings in detail and in particular to FIG. 1, a slab planer apparatus of this invention, indicated generally at 12, is shown as mounted on a pair of spaced guide rails 14 and 15 anchored in a solid supporting bed 16 preferably constructed of concrete material. The slab planer apparatus 12 is movable longitudinally of an elongated, pre-stressed, concrete slab member 18 which is being finished to a given dimension or may have agate material therein being polished for decorative purposes. The guide rails 14 and 15 are rigidly secured to the supporting bed 16 as by reinforcing material, lag bolts or the like so as to support the slab planer apparatus 12 and to absorb the reaction force during working operation as will be explained.

The slab planer apparatus 12 includes a housing means 19; a power means 21 mounted on the housing means 19 operable to provide the driving and Working power; a surface treating means 23 mounted within the housing means 19 and operably connected to the power means 21 to provide surface treating to the concrete slab member 18, a spray assembly 24 mounted within the housing means 19 for applying a fluid to the area being worked upon by the surface treating means 23; and a spring loader assembly 26 mounted in each respective corner of the housing means 19 to provide the reaction force for the surface treating means 23 on the concrete slab member 18.

The housing means 1 9 includes a basic support frame 28 having upright sidewalls 30, a top wall 31, and end wall partitions 32, all interconnected as through conventional' use of angle iron members to provide an overall rigid structure. A plurality of bracing and support angle irons 34 are provided for mounting the power means 21 thereon plus having additional ones of angle iron members 35 and 37 operable to provide substantial support to the top wall 31 to support the power means 21 thereon.

The power means 21 includes a main motor means 39 preferably of an internal combustion engine type interconnected to a pump means 41 to supply fluid pressure to a support and drive wheel assemblies 43 and 45, and, additionally, to drive the surface treating means 23 through a chain and sprQCkfit assembly 46. The motor means 39 further includes a fuel reservoir tank 47 mounted within the housing means 19 connected thereto to provide the necessary self-sustaining power supply. The power means 21 further includes a main control panel assembly 48 and a control means 51 (FIG. 6) operable to provide for the new and novel operation of the slab planer apparatus 12. The support and drive wheel assemblies 43 and 45 each includes a pair of support wheel members 53 rotatably mounted in the housing means 19 on opposite sides thereof and interconnected through a sprocket 54, a chain 55, and an additional sprocket 57 to a common drive shaft 58 which is connected through a sprocket 59 and a chain 61 to a hydraulic drive motor 63 supplied with fluid from the pump means 41. Each wheel member 53 is adapted to be supported on a respective one of the guide rails 14 and 15 and operates to support the slab planer apparatus 12.

The control panel assembly 48 includes a basic on and off switch 65; a gauge 67 indicating pressure available to the drive motors 6.3) a speed control lever 68; and various other gauges 70 and 71 operable to indicate water temperature, oil pressure, etc.

As shown in FIG. 3, the support and drive wheel asemblies 43 and 45 further include spaced, cam follower members 73 secured to the housing means 19 and operably engageable with the outermost edges of respective ones of the guide rails 14 and 15 to assure that the slab planer apparatus 12 is maintained in the proper relationship for longitudinal movement.

The surface treating means 23 includes a main grinder assembly 75 having an arbor member 76 extended from one sidewall 30 to the other mounted in bearing members. Additionally, the grinder assembly 75 includes a guard member 78 secured to the housing means 19 having upright handle members 79 so that the same may be removed for maintenance and replacement when required. The guard member 78 maintains the particles from the grinding and/or cutting operation from contaminating the rest of the slab planer apparatus 12. The arbor member 76 is provided with an elongated shaft 81 supporting a plurality of cutter segments 82 interconnected as by off-set portions 84 and having the same clamped in a rigid manner through spanner nuts 86 secured to opposite ends of the shaft 81 to maintain the segments 82 therebetween. It is obvious that various materials may be used on the cutting surface of the segments 82; however, a diamond type cutting surface is preferred and normally needed in order for surface grinding of the concrete slab member 18. It is seen that the outer end of the shaft 81 is connected through a sprocket member 87 and chain 88 covered by the guard member 78 to a drive shaft 89 on the output of the motor means 39.

As shown in FIG. 3, the spray assembly 24 includes conduit members 91 and 92 interconnected to an elongnated pipe member 94 mounted rearwardly of the arbor member 76 and having downwardly depending nozzles 95. The nozzles 95 are directed towards the mating of the outer surface of the arbor member 76 and the concrete material being worked upon to supply lubricating and/or coolant fluid thereto. It is obvious that this fluid can be carried in a reservoir tank on the top wall 31 of the housing means 19 or may be attached to a supply hose from an external source. Additionally, the spray assembly 24 includes a flooding nozzle 97 secured to a pipe 98 and mounted forwardly of the arbor member 76 operable to flush the same with a large quantity of fluid so as to wash away the particles which are ground away by the anbor member 76.

As best shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the spring loader assemblies 26 are substantially identical, therefore, only one need be described in detail. The spring loader assembly 26 is readily mountable on an'upright support post 101 adjacent a sidewall 30 of the slab planer apparatus 12. Each spring loader assembly 26 includes an attachment frame assembly 103 secured to the housing means 19; a main housing 104 pivotally connected to the attachment frame assembly 103; a spring housing assembly 106 telescopically mounted within the main housing 104; and a cam yoke assembly 108 attached to the main housing 104 engageable with the spring housing assembly 106.

The attachment frame assembly 103 includes a U- shaped housing 109 having parallel upright legs 111 and 112 interconnected by an upper base plate 114 having outer flange sections 115 about the periphery of the upper base plate 114 and the one leg 111 which are attachable by welding to the respective support post 101. The upright legs 111 and 112 are provided with a pair of spaced openings to receive a shaft 117 for attachment to the main housing 104. The shaft 117 is held against axial movement by an enlarged head portion 118 at one end and a pin member inserted through an opening in the opposite end.

The main housing 104 includes an upright main body 121 having aligned holes 122 adapted to receive the shaft 117 for pivotal movement. An upper end of the main body 121 is closed by a reaction plate 122 welded thereto having a centrally positioned hole 124 therethrough.

The spring housing assembly 106 includes a spring tube member 126; a compression spring 128 mounted within the tube member 126; and a roller assembly 129 connected to the tube member 126. The lower end of the tube member 126 supports a rotatable roller member 131 thereon which is anchored to an inside leg of the tube member 126 by a shaft 132 extended through an opening and held there as by a lock nut 134.

The cam yoke assembly 108 includes a yoke member 136 pivotally connected to a pair of cam members 138 mounted between the undersurface of the reaction plate 122 and a compression plate 142 having a spring connector assembly 143 extended therebetween. The spring connector assembly 143 includes a tension rod member 145 having a lower end secured to a base plate 146 to support the spring 128 mounted between the same and the lower surface of the compression plate 142. It is seen that the compression spring 128 acts against the lower base plate 146 and the connector assembly 143. The spring 128 biases the roller member 131 upwardly into engagement with the lower surface of the outward leg of the respective guide rails 14 and 15. A nut member 148 is threadably movable on the upper end of the tension rod member 145 to vary the compression of the spring 128 so as to achieve a greater compression force between the roller member 131 and the wheel members 53.

The yoke member 136 is of U-shape saving parallel leg sections 151 interconnected by an upper handle section 153. The leg sections 151 are provided with aligned square openings 154 each adapted to receive one of the cam members 138 therein.

In use and operation of the spring loader assemblies 12, the yoke member 136 may be pivotally movable to the horizontal position whereupon the cam members 138 are moved to place the cam portion with its widest dimension into contact with the reaction plate 122 and the compression plate 142 to move the entire spring housing assembly 106 downwardly. This causes the roller member 131 to be spaced downwardly from the respective guide rails 14 and 15 whereupon the main housing 104 and the spring housing assembly 106 pivots about the connector shaft to an inactive position. On attachment of the spring loader assemblies 126 to the guide rails 14 and 15, they may be moved downwardly into the position of FIG. whereupon the yoke member 136 is moved upwardly to rotate the cam members 138 whereby the roller members 131 engage the undersurface of the guide rails 14 and under force of the springs 128. It is seen that any amount of reaction load may be achieved from the spring loader assemblies 126 by adjusting the same on rotation of the lock nut 148 to regulate compression of the spring 128. It is seen that the spring loader assemblies 126 may be provided with various sizes of compression springs 128 to provide the required force whether using the same as a drive mechanism or as a reaction against grinding and/ or cutting operations.

The control means 51 of this invention, as shown in FIG. 6, includes the pump means 41 driven by the motor means 39 and receiving a fluid supply through a line 155 from a reservoir 157. The output side of the pump means 41 is connected through a line 158 having a pressure gauge 159 mounted therein. The line 158 separates into lines 161 and 163 whereupon the line 161 extends to a pressure release valve 164 which may be set at a predetermined pressure such as 1,000 p.s.i. On reaching this excessive pressure, the pressure release valve 164 opens to discharge fluid through line 166 and a filter 167 back to a common reservoir 157 to provide protection against excessive pressure. The line 163 extends to a by-pass valve 169 which is also connected by a line 171 to discharge excessive fluid into the reservoir 157. A line 172 from the by-pass valve 169 leads into axially movable control valve 174 which is operable from an off to forward or reverse positions.

As shown in FIG. 6, the control valve 174 is in the off position whereupon any fluid supplied through the bypass valve 169 and line 172 is interconnected through a line 176 to a filter 178 for return to the resevoir 157. On downward movement of the control valve 174 from the position of FIG. 6, it is seen that the line 172 would be connected as shown by the arrows to line 179 which would drive one of the hydraulic motors 63, and, therefrom, would go through line 181 to the other hydraulic motor 63 hooked up in series. From the last drive motor 63, the fluid would move through line 183 and into the line 176 for movement back to the reservoir 157. It is obvious that on upward movement of the control valve 174, the drive motors 63 are similarly connected to lines 183, 181, and 179, but are connected in the reverse so that the slab planer apparatus 12 would be movable in the oposite or reverse direction. It is seen that the pump means 41 is of a constant volume type whereupon the pressure is regulated through the release valve 164 so that a constant drive force is maintained on the drive wheels 53 for moving the entire slab planer apparatus 12 therealong at a desired effective working rate.

In the use and operation of the slab planer apparatus 12, it is obvious the same is readily mountable on the guide rails 14 and 15 with the wheel members 53 in engagement with the upper surfaces thereof and having the lateral cam followers 73 engagable with the upright edges for lateral stability. The surface treating means 23, namely, the grinder assembly 75 is vertically adjustable so as to place the surface of the arbor member 76 in engagement with the top surface of the concrete slab member 18 for removing a desired portion thereof or for polishing purposes. The spring loader assemblies 26 are readily movable downwardly into the attached position as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 to grasp the undersurface of the guide rails 14 and 15 to provide spring loader force thereagainst to pull the entire slab planer apparatus 12 downwardly on the respective guide rails 14 and 15. The control means 51 can thereupon be operated through the on and off switch 67 and other such controls to start the power means 21 which operates to rotate the arbor member 76 at a pre-determined rate to achieve the desired end product of the material being worked upon. Next, it is obvious that the control valve 174 may be operated to supply hydraulic pressure fluid to both of the hydraulic drive motors 63 connected in series to provide the desired propulsion of the entire slab planer apparatus 12. It is seen that the control means 51 is operable to release pressure fluid when the same increases to an undesirable level due to perhaps hitting hard spots or the like in the concrete slab 18 being worked thereupon. It is obvious that the control means 51 is operable to move the entire slab planer apparatus 12 along the guide rails 14 and 15 at a desired rate and automatically slows the same down and compensates for hitting various high spots and/orhard spots in the material being worked upon.

In the method of using the slab planer apparatus 12 of this invention, the same is mounted on the guide rails 14 and 15 so as to straddle the concrete slab member 18 and the subsequent steps are as follows:

(a) the spring loader assemblies 26 are placed into contact with the respective guide rails 14 and 15 as shown in FIG. 5;

(b) the springs 128 are regulated to apply sufficient reaction force depending on material being worked upon;

(c) the grinder assembly 23 is adjusted to regulated height of the arbor member 76 and amount of material removal; and

(d) the control valve 174 is operable to control movement of the apparatus 12 relative to resistance of material worked upon.

The method of this invention provides a unique means of finishing objects to a given dimension or polishing surfaces in a most efficient and effective manner allowing a surface treating operation to be finished in a minimum amount of time.

It is seen that the slab planer apparatus of this invention is operable to provide a compact and self-sustaining unit movable over concrete material or the like for providing a cutting, polishing, or grinding to size operation. The slab planer mechanism is completely self-contained and unlimited in usage. The slab planer apparatus includes the spring loader assemblies operable to provide the necessary reaction forces needed in grinding and cutting operations without the bulkiness and large weight normally needed for such opeartions. Also, the slab planer apparatus is a relatively inexpensive means to create a reaction force during a given machine operation and is therefore economical in operation, rigid and simple in construction, readily adjustable, and requiring little if any maintenance.

While the invention has been described in conjunction With preferred specific embodiments thereof, it will be understood that this description is intended to illustrate and not to limit the scope of the invention, which is defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A material working apparatus movable over an object being worked upon, comprising:

(a) support means mounted on opposite sides of the object,

(b) housing means having support members engagable with said support means for movement thereon,

(c) power means mounted on said housing means operably connected to said support members for propulsion of said material working apparatus over the object,

(d) surface treating means mounted on said housing means operably connected to said power means for working contact with the object, and

(e) spring loader assemblies secured to said housing means engagable with said support means to bias said material working apparatus downwardly to apply a reaction against said support means and provide a counter reaction to engagement of said surface treating means with the object being worked upon.

2. A material working apparatus as described in claim 1, wherein:

(a) said surface treating means including an elongated arbor member extended transversely of and rotatably mounted in said housing means having an outer working surface thereon, and

(b) said power means having a motor means operably connected to said arbor member for controlled rotation and engagement of said surface with the object being worked upon.

3. A material working apparatus as described in claim 1, wherein:

(a) said power means including a motor means operably connected to said surface treating means for the operation thereof, a pump means connected to said motor means for supplying pressure fluid, and hydraulic drive motor means connected to said sup port members and said pump means for the controlled rotation thereby providing for hydraulic movement of said material Working apparatus on said support means.

4. A material working apparatus as described in claim 3, wherein:

(a) said power means including a by-pass valve and a control valve mounted between said pump means and said support members for the operation thereof,

(b) said by-pass valve operable in reaching a predetermined pressure to by-pass fluid from said drive motor means for the controlled operation at a predetermined pressure, and

(c) said control valve movable from a closed to forward or reverse positions thereby controlling the direction of operation of said drive motor means and resultant movement of said apparatus.

5. A material working apparatus as described in claim 3, wherein:

(a) said pump means of a constant volume type to provide the even movement of said apparatus operable on maintaining a pre-determined pressure so that said apparatus is moved at a given drive rate depending on the resistance of the object being worked upon.

6. A material working apparatus as described in claim 1, wherein:

(a) said spring loader assemblies having a main housing assembly, a yoke assembly, and a spring housing assembly connected to said housing assembly through said yoke assembly, and

(b) said spring housing assembly including a main body, biasing means engageable with said yoke assembly and said main body to bias same upwardly, and roller means engageable with said support means to bias said apparatus downwardly by a reaction against said support means.

7. A material working apparatus as described in claim 6, wherein:

(a) said yoke assembly including a yoke member pivotal relative to said housing assembly connected to a cam member, and

(b) said cam member mounted between and in contact with said housing assembly and said main body operable to selectively connect and release said roller means from contact with said support means under force of said biasing-means.

8. A material working apparatus as described in claim 6, wherein:

(a) said main body of generally tubular shape in transverse cross section telescopically mounted within said housing assembly having said yoke assembly mounted therein,

(b) said biasing means having a compression spring mounted in said main body, and

(c) said yoke assembly including a tension rod engageable with said housing assembly having a lower portion thereof engageable with said compression spring and the upper end of said spring mounted against said main body, said yoke assembly including a nut member mounted on said tension rod to regulate the axial movement thereof and resultant force of said compression spring to provide an up wardly biasing movement of said roller means against said support means to provide the downward reaction force of said apparatus against the upper surface of said support means.

9. A material Working apparatus as described in claim 6, wherein:

(a) said housing assembly including a support body member of tubular shape in transverse cross section, laterally extended flanges secured to said support body member connected to said housing means, a reaction plate connected to the upper portion of said body member,

(b) said yoke assembly including a cam member mounted between said reaction plate and an upper portion of said main body operable to maintain a separation therebetween, and said cam member connected to a yoke member for pivotal movement,

(0) said biasing means having a compression spring mounted in said main body,

(d) said yoke assembly further including a tension rod member extended through said reaction plate and said main body having a lower end engageable with said compression spring, and said compression spring having its other end mounted against said main body to urge said roller means upwardly into contact with said support means, and

(e) said yoke member movable to rotate said cam member to regulate the separation of said main :body and said reaction plate thereby moving said roller means into and out of contact with said support means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,887,424 11/1932 Perazzoli 51178 3,007,687 11/1961 Hatcher 51176 3,387,891 6/1968 Simms et a1. 51176 15 WILLIAM R. ARMSTRONG, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

